


A Bridge to the Future

by Toaster_Fire



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Confessions, Emotional, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Love Confessions, One Shot, Post-Canon, Post-War, Sad with a Happy Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-16
Updated: 2020-10-16
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:35:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27036556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Toaster_Fire/pseuds/Toaster_Fire
Summary: The old world was dead.A brave, new world will finally come.The future for everyone in Fodlan looked brighter after five years of warfare.Save for one heir of Gautier, who was still trying to find his own path.And even something beyond that...
Relationships: Ingrid Brandl Galatea/Sylvain Jose Gautier
Comments: 4
Kudos: 12





	A Bridge to the Future

**Author's Note:**

> Finally, I made a fic in good time and not more than 5000 words. It was a different but fun experience writing something shorter!
> 
> This fic goes out to the folks running the Sylvgrid server, they are absolutely wonderful and inspiring people!
> 
> Anyway, I hope you like my take on Ingrid and Sylvain's relationship :)

The war has ended, Fodlan is spared from another terrible war, and The Kingdom of Faerghus has become the new ruling state. Peace finally seemed possible after 5 years of brutal warfare.

But peace wasn’t what Sylvain had in mind. Rather, he feels worried about his own future. He keeps spending his time on the rooftops of the royal castle, just so he can deliberate on his own thoughts while chewing the scenery of Fhirdiad. It’s what he just wants to do for the time being.

Today however, wasn’t in Sylvain’s favor.

“So I take it that this is where you have been for the past few days?”

Sylvain turns around to meet his uninvited guest, “Oh, Ingrid. You need something from me?”

Ingrid crossed her arms, “Well, me, Dimitri and Felix have been wondering why you were spending all of your time up here.”

Sylvain’s eyes look away nonchalantly, “Is that all they want? Well… a guy needs his quiet time you know? To stew in his thoughts for the future that he hasn’t quite figured out yet. Stuff like that.”

Ingrid looks at Sylvain with concern, “Well that would be fine, but you tend to stay up here for long periods of time. Sometimes we don’t even see you until the night settles in. It’s almost like you were intentionally trying to get away from us.”

Sylvain brushes off her concern, “Pff, really? I really just… like the scenery from up here. It’s really grand you know! With the buildings lined up and the mountains with their breathtaking peaks… you should try spending some more time here Ingrid.”

Instead of replying to his inquiry, Ingrid kept looking at Sylvain right in the eyes. Traces of concern are expressed by her steady glare.

Sylvain sighs, “Alright. If you want me to go back down and help his highness then I will be there in a second. No need to pressure me with those beautiful emerald eyes of yours.”

“It’s not that.”

“Hm? Then… what is it about?”

Ingrid closes the distance between her and Sylvain, “You had something in your mind for a quite a while ever since we finally declared that the war is over.”

“Hah. Well, it’s just… future stuff. Cause I’m going to be the next head of House Gautier after all.”

“Is that really all there is to it?

“Yeah! Of course…”

Though Sylvain tried to act as nonchalantly as he could, Ingrid could feel the tension in his voice. And the way he was looking towards the floor didn’t help his case either.

Ingrid tried to take a more relaxed tone, “I apologise if I’m just hitting you with too many questions, but the way you are behaving concerns all of us. Dimitri and Felix can sense the pressure of your new position weighing down on you heavily. And all we want now is to help you alleviate any of those burdens you may have. So please, tell me what has been going on.”

It took a moment for Sylvain to put away the faked nonchalance. His demeanor shifts to an expression that is more somber.

“I can’t…”

“Hmm?” She raised an eyebrow in confusion.

“I can’t really express how sort of… difficult it is…”

“Well we can’t get anywhere if you don’t start explaining anything.” Ingrid quietly sighed in frustration.

“W-Well the thing is, I sort of got it figured out. But I’m not sure if I am even qualified to do something like that.”

“Do what?”

“It’s…”, Sylvain struggles to look Ingrid in the eye, “It’s something that a lot of people are really going to hate me for at first.”

Ingrid furrowed her brow in worry, _“Goddess… what is he going to do?”_

Sylvain took a deep breath and let all of his thoughts out,

“IwanttochangeFodlanbyremovingtheimportanceofcrestsentirely.”

...

“Um, sorry?”

“I am going to change how the crests are valued! All they have done is corrupting the world into thinking they are the only things that matter! They screwed me up, and they are the reason why bastardized people like ‘him’ are going to keep popping up if nothing is going to change!”

His now frustrated tone made Ingrid uneasy. It felt like he was holding in so much anguish that she can’t really dive into.

But she knew what he meant by ‘bastardized people.’

His brother.

Sylvain confided in her some time after the battle in the tower that despite having bad blood between each other, he knew his brother was just a victim of a society that expects too much. Lamenting how much the Crests can hurt other people just because of their importance.

“I’m… so sorry. I never really understood how much it affected you…”

Sylvain sighs, “Look. I don’t want to blame you or for not understanding my own problems. You had your troubles to deal with and I just kept these things to myself. I mean, I never told you how I’m not great at trusting anyone really well...”

Ingrid shakes her head, “That still doesn’t make it right. I’m supposed to be your confidant. Yet I never pieced together and helped you out of your anguish....”

“Same could be said about me.” Sylvain chuckles in defeat, “I wasn’t listening nor was I much help to you much at all. Even if I understood your pain, or anyone else’s, there wasn’t much I could do. I was stuck hiding my own set of problems because I didn’t want to burden you any further.”

He turned away from Ingrid, “Nothing really mattered to me anymore except to find some way to cope with it. And I did that by toying with other people with the very thing I resented to get what I want. See how they feel if someone else does it to them.”

His voice became more serious, “But that changes today. From now on, I want to focus on those fixing my own issues and those who share it with me. Where people will be determined for who they are as a person. Not by status, and not by bloodline. In hindsight, I’m repeating what Edelgard tried to do. But unlike her, I will use my crest, my position as the heir of house Gautier to influence change instead. If there are people who will end up hating me because I took too long to redeem myself, then so be it.”

Ingrid can’t find the right words to encapsulate how much of an undertaking Sylvain’s ambitions are. But she understood better why he stays on the rooftop contemplating much of the time.

The part that irks her however, is that he feels like that he will be hated because of his past mistakes.

“That hate may be inevitable at first. But through time and understanding of your perspective, they are more willing to forgive. I truly believe that.” Ingrid says firmly.

He directs a gaze towards her, “How are you so sure?”

“Remember that day when I finally came out of my room?”

Sylvain paused for a moment. “Of course I did. I insisted on visiting you so that we could have our first playdate in a while. I was the only one that came since Felix and Dimitri had to go somewhere else.”

“Then, do you remember that girl from the nearby village who was running a travelling chestnut stand?”

Sylvain closes his eyes in contemplation “Umm, not really…”

Ingrid sighs, “You wanted to get some for me since I was getting hungry. So you told me to stay in the castle while you went out. I wanted to pay you back with my gratitude for all that you had done for taking care of me, so I followed you so that I can help you carry all that food.”

“Wait a minute, this sounds a bit familiar…”

“It took a long bit of walking, but I eventually saw you in the distance. I thought you already had gotten those chestnuts… but I saw something else.”

“Don’t tell me...”

“You were smooching her. In the lips.”

In that moment, Sylvain finally realises why Ingrid had gotten quiet when he brought back the chestnuts. His actions unintentionally brought pain to Ingrid. But he knew that him as a child was very different from when he was a teenager.

“I-Ingrid, I only did so that I can get those chestnuts! The girl saw how cute I am, I simply offered that she can kiss me if she can give me a bag of chestnuts for free. It was just that! I didn’t have those same intentions before then!!” Sylvain exclaimed.

Her voice grew in volume, “Well, it didn’t matter to me at the time. I tried to deny the fact that your concern for me wasn’t genuine at all. I should have believed it all this time, but my heart wasn’t strong enough to. All that I had left after that event was a burning desire to not have my emotions toyed with. So I did that by chasing those dreams of being a knight once more. Not just to avenge Glenn, but to stand for myself.”

Sylvain felt hurt, “I-I didn’t...”

Ingrid vehemently continued, “When I finally caught you trying to the daughter of a lord, I finally had an excuse to stop hiding all of it from you. I had to make the point that your philandery didn’t just cause harm for others, but for me especially! Someone I thought I could open up my feelings to!”

Her words had cut deep. Sylvain honestly felt shaken at the fact that she was hiding all that she had known from him for so long. He even began questioning if all that Ingrid was saying now was a justification to let go of something she had been holding on to.

In Ingrid’s mind, she had finally gotten a weight off her chest that she had been holding onto for a long time. She took a deep breath and tried again to speak calmly,

“But when we started talking to each other in the academy, and confiding in each other during the war, my feelings began echoing those of the past. In my mind, I shouldn’t have forgiven you at all for hurting me inside. But my concern for you always takes over everytime I see you come back with the bruises and scars on your body that came from every skirmish. Those concerns weren’t rooted in resentment like in the past, but it’s because I really care about you.”

Sylvain finally understood where she was going. Ingrid wasn’t good at showing affection ever since Glenn passed away. He never even thought that her concern changed from a grudge to, dare he thinks, a place of genuine love.

“I apologise if I did come out strong at certain points. But I hope you know better now that you deserve forgiveness and affection. Your unwavering loyalty and empathy will not be disregarded.”

Sylvain was left at a loss for words, “That’s... quite a lot to take in…”

But Sylvain’s thoughts were interrupted by his body shuddering from the now freezing cold air. 

His teeth are chattering with a breeze blowing past by him,

“C-Crap, I-I’ve been u-up here for t-t-too long!”

Ingrid drapes over Sylvain’s shirt with her green fur-outlined overcoat.

“That’s why we shouldn’t go out with just a shirt. Let’s go in before we freeze ourselves. Alright?”

“Y-yeah… l-let’s go…”

\-----------------------------------------------------------

When the two return to Dimitri and Felix, Dimitri advises that Sylvain should stay off work for the time being and just unfreeze himself. Felix still wanted that explanation of why he spends so much time on the roof, but he had to relent when Ingrid stubbornly promises to have Sylvain explain about it once he is feeling better.

As the two of them sit near the fireplace, Sylvain decided to break the ice,

“Ingrid.”

“Yes Sylvain?”

“That part where you said that you cared about me, I never felt so… happy hearing that.”

“Well, I did spill all my guts to you. I’m just glad you are in a better place now because of my honesty.”

“Is there… anything else you want to be honest about?”

Ingrid gave it a thought, “‘When you made that off-handed comment about me wearing makeup for you… I really wanted to punch you.”

“Yikes…”

Ingrid craned her neck “Well, sort of. Because really, I felt happy deep inside. That you finally notice me as a woman. I was just… pretty defensive about it since you were the one who said it..”

“Defensive? More like aggressive…”

“You get it now at least..”

“...”

“...”

“So how would you feel if you were to date me?” Sylvain inquires.

Ingrid looked surprised, but not angry.

“It depends.”

“Well, I will definitely stay by your side. No questions asked.”

“And not go out with any other girl?” Ingrid inquires.

Sylvain shakes his head, “Of course not! I haven’t even done that ever since we made that promise back in the academy!”

“Really? If that’s true...”

“It is!”

Ingrid shrugs, “Well, I guess I’ll take your word for it then.”

“Oh! And if it comes to things like marriage, then I will ensure that your family’s territory would be helped by my family. What with how much your dad does to take care of you, he deserves it.”

Ingrid guffaws in surprise, “When did you decide we should jump into marriage!?”

“That’s the thing. I will use my position as an heir to help your family out, as well getting you to your dream. I want you to be a knight because honestly, you’re not meant for the whole domestic wife lifestyle. Anyone who even tries to tell you they can are just a bunch of sissies.”

“Hmm. Good point there...”

“I mean, the whole choice is still up to you. If anything, everyone here wants to give their full support for your family and your dreams of knighthood. I just say all this first because you are more than a friend to me Ingrid.”

“Well then... I would not want to date you...”

Sylvain felt a bit crushed inside, “Yowch! That’s awfully rude to answer so quickly…”

“I haven't even finished Sylvain. I would not want to date you. I WANT to date you.”

“Oh… “

Sylvain slaps his forehead in embarrassment.

“Good grief Ingrid, you had me for a second there… You always like to kick me in the pants...”

Ingrid laughs, “That’s only something I would only do with you. For fun of course.”

Sylvain chuckles, “Well I shouldn’t have underestimated your sense of humor to begin with. And if our banter means anything, then everything is going to be alright!”

Ingrid smiles, “I really do believe so.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope that was short and sweet enough for you. I've haven't wrote a short story for a long time, so I hope the pacing wasn't all over the place.
> 
> And if you do enjoy this story, I am going to publish another fic right away that will continue this relationship. I hope you look forward to it!
> 
> I'll see you in the next chapter!
> 
> \- Toaster_Fire


End file.
